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Local karate students place high in national meet ———————————- By DAVID RUEHLING Sports Writer __________________ It was an all-female showing at the national karate championship for the local International Karate Federation chapter.
"We had 12 competitors go, and we had several places in the top six," said I head instructor John Harris. ‘We bad two new national champions, two silver medalists, and two bronze medalists. "They trained hard," Harris added. "The ones that wanted it the most benefited from the training." Tara Mills, 15, competing in the beginner division, won gold medals in forms and and fighting. Melissa Buchschacher, 15, an intermediate student, won a gold medal in forms. "It felt good," Buchschacher said. "It was pretty cool. I was nervous when I first started. It was my goal to win. I didn’t know if I could, but I thought I could. "I’ve been doing karate for almost two years," she added. "It was just something for me and my sister to do." Mills has only been involved in karate for four months. "I was made to (compete) by my parents," Mills said. "I didn’t have a choice. "I just wanted to do my best," Mills added. "The judge said my kata was very strong." Denise Gauvey, 15, an advanced student, won a silver medal in forms and Siobhan Dempsey, a beginning student, won a silver medal in fighting and she as also fourth in forms. "It was a real challenge for Denise," Harris said. "This was her first medal in forms. She wanted it really bad. She worked with one kata for months to prepare for this, over and over, and it aid off." Jamie Harris, 8, a novice student, won a bronze medal in fighting, and Elizabeth 14, an advanced student, won a bronze medal in fighting. To qualify for nationals, competitors had to meet certain criteria. The IKF had 20 athletes qualify for nationals, but only 12 were able to make the trip. "They had to go to state and region," Harris said. "We won 72 medals at region." Harris added several IKF members were also certified as coaches at the national meet, completing a 14-hour American Coaches Effectiveness Program. |
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Six members of
the IKF, all women, were the medal winners for the group at the 1995 AAU/USA
National Karate Championship, held June 21 in Greenville, S.C.